Phosphate spike... dead fish the cause?

[sanzz18]

Haven't been around enough the past couple weeks to run test all my levels. On 6/23 my phosphate was 0.09 using the Hanna checker. Today (7/11) I measure it at 0.17. I significantly reduced my nutrients export 4-5 months ago because I was battling dinos. My skimmer was running only 12hrs everyday, wasn't doing many water changes, took out my fleece roller, overfeeding, etc. I also, had two tangs die in my tank that were unable to be taken out.

Tank is about 7 months old and has 9 fish in it that are pretty small. So the bio load is pretty low.

Will simply adding my filter socks back (not fleece roller yet) and running my skimmer full time take care of this for now instead of using GFO?

Could the two tangs I lost in the tank that are dead cause a phosphate spike?

 

[Uncle99]

.17 is not a bad number in terms of phosphate.
Skimmer that for now and see where that takes you.

 

[sanzz18]

.17 is not a bad number in terms of phosphate.
Skimmer that for now and see where that takes you.

Even if I just started adding some easy SPS tester pieces to my tank this week? I always thought you would want to keep it under 0.1.

 

[sanzz18]

Bump - New phosphate level is 0.16. Should I be concerned and use GFO or should I let it be right now.

 

[BoriReefer]

0.16 is not a bad number. I keep mine at 0.3-0.9 and all corals, including sps are thriving. Corals need nutrients.

 

[Arabyps]

IMO your phosphate level is not a problem. Don't chase numbers within reason. Do consistent water changes and also the fish bio-load is part of the nutrient supply for the coral. Much has been said on this topic. Check YouTube videos.